Each week, The Reporters put their thumbs out to the good and the bad in the world of sports. Chris Wondolowski Jersey . This week, they discuss poor injury alibis, the cutting of Michael Sam, MLB rosters and the NFL preseason. Bruce Arthur, Toronto Star: My thumb is down to Josh Shaw: USC cornerback, NFL prospect, and raconteur. As dutifully published by the official USC football web site, Shaw explained his two sprained ankles by saying he leapt from a balcony to save a drowning nephew. He was hailed as a hero right up until the story turned out to be fake, at which point Shaw lawyered up, and there may be a darker explanation coming. Now, what have we learned? First, state media in sports is about what youd expect. And two, at USC, somebody needs to teach “Alibis 101”. What happened to saying you got hurt on a dare? Or while drunk? Instead, your excuse is: “Sorry, guys, I was just an incredible hero.” That, like Josh Shaw leaping from a balcony, was never going to fly. Steve Simmons, Sun Media: My thumb is down to ESPN for its ludicrous and somewhat insulting coverage of Michael Sam. We all know the story by now; How Michael Sam became the first openly gay athlete to try out for an NFL team. We also know that as of yesterday, he didnt make the St. Louis Rams and may end up on the clubs practice roster. But what ESPN did earlier in the week, having since apologized for it, is air a story with a reporter asking players about Sams showering habits, whether he showers alone or with any of his teammates, as if any of that matters. This sent veteran Rams coach Jeff Fisher into a deserved lather but the best response regarding the situation saw came from Chris Long of the Rams, who tweeted: “Dear ESPN, everyone but you is over it." Michael Farber, Sports Illustrated: My thumb is down to Major League Baseball, which insists on playing with different sets of rules. No, this is not a rehash of the DH argument or a lament about separate trade deadlines, waiver and non-waiver. My line in the sand is the annual September 1 roster expansions, when teams can add as many as 15 players. Of course, theres value in extra arms and a few bench guys, but it remains absurd that MLB has not harmonized September roster sizes so a team with, say, 28 players isnt facing one with 34. At the biggest time of the season, a league that prides itself on parity legitimizes imbalance. Dave Hodge, TSN: My thumb is down to Thursday night of this week, the part that saw 32 NFL teams reach the end of their horribly boring and meaningless pre-season schedules, the goal of which, according to Atlanta Falcons wide receiver Roddy White, is to "stay healthy". Most of the stars manage to do that by not playing very much. Thus, it should be understood that NFL teams are insulting their fans. Those who boo, as they did in Buffalo while watching the Bills fail to score a point against the Detroit Lions, would be quite right to object if they did so from home. If, by protesting in person, they think the NFL will hear their displeasure, they miss the point that the NFL is oblivious and is more loudly cheering its ability to collect their money... for nothing. Jordan Morris Jersey . Head coach Lindy Ruff confirmed on Sunday that his starting goalie has a head injury and the team will take it day by day. Mix Diskerud Jersey . Fognini won 7-5, 6-2, 6-2 after Argentinas Carlos Berlocq had beaten Andreas Seppi 4-6, 6-0, 6-2, 6-1 on the outdoor clay surface. Doubles are set for Saturday with reverse singles on Sunday to decide which team reaches the quarterfinals. http://www.soccerusafansshop.com/Julian-Green-Copa-America-Jersey/ . Julien coached the Bruins to the Stanley Cup championship in 2010-11 and is the longest serving coach in consecutive seasons in the teams history. Claude is one of the top coaches in the NHL and has consistently shown a passion for winning, general manager Peter Chiarelli said Sunday in announcing the signing.CHARLESTON, S.C. - American Sloane Stephens was upset 6-4, 6-4 by Elina Svitolina at the Family Circle Cup, losing to the 35th-ranked Ukrainian on Wednesday. The 18th-ranked Stephens fell to the 19-year-old Svitolina, who earned her fourth career victory over a top 20 player — the third coming last week at the tournament near Miami. The 21-year-old Stephens gave credit to her opponent, who moved up seven spots to reach a career-high ranking this week. "She played pretty well, and its just unfortunate that I lost, but I mean, you can just learn from the mistakes and things like that and build on it," Stephens said. Last week at the Sony Open, Svitolina defeated Bethanie Mattek-Sands, Eugenie Bouchard and Barbora Zahlavova Strycova before losing to No. 3 Agnieszka Radwanska. "I started to believe more in myself that I can compete with players like this, top level, top 20 and top 10," said Svitolina, who is making her first appearance on the green clay in Charleston. &qquot;I think this is the key, that I believe more in myself and I play more solid from the baseline and trying to go forward to finish the point earlier. Michael Bradley Jersey. ." Second-seeded Jelena Jankovic, the highest seeded player remaining after top-ranked Serena Williams was upset Tuesday, plays Wednesday night against American Lauren Davis. The 28th-ranked Venus William faces Chanelle Scheepers of South Africa later Wednesday. Stephens says shes looking forward to a long career. "If I play 10 more years of tennis, until Im 31, thats a lot of tennis to be played," Stephens said. "I could win the next Grand Slam or I could win one in six years and that would still be, you know, if I had pretty decent results and I was pretty consistent, I think that would still be pretty good." In other matches, Daniela Hantuchova of Slovakia defeated American qualifier Grace Min 6-2, 6-3. Elena Vesnina of Russia stopped Petra Cetkovska of the Czech Republic, 3-6, 6-2, 6-4. Cheap NFL Black Jerseys Wholesale Black NFL Jerseys Wholesale NFL Gear Wholesale Stitched Jerseys Wholesale NFL Womens Jerseys Cheap NFL Black Jerseys Jerseys NFL China ' ' '